The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-01-19
A FRIGHTFUL COLLISION.
A Lightning Express Crashes Into
n Freight Train.
Many Persons, Wedged in the Ruins,
Roasted to Death.

About 2:15 o'clock A. n. the other morning
as Baltimore and Ohio freight train, east
bound, was pulling up gradeof nine miles
near the village of Republic, Ohio, the engine
gave out, so the conductor, Nv. ]. Fletcher,
says, and the train could gono further. The
conductor, knowing that the limited express
west was about due, grabbed red lantern
and ran forward. He had not gone more
than twenty car lengths when he saw the ex-
press coming. He signaled it, butit was then
too late. 1t was impossible to stop the train.
In less time than it takes to say SO, the two en-
gines had come together with terrible crasE
and teleScoped. When the passenger engineer
saw the freight he shouted to the fireman:
Jump! jump! jump!" and set the example
by jumping through the cab window. He
his knee. but being otherwise unin-
jured The fireman, William Fredericks,
arose to jump. but was too late, and two iron
beams caught him at the hips, crushing him,
and holding him ten feet in the air, where he
was suspended three hours, when death came
to his relief.
Within five minutes after the collision the
wreck was on fire and the baggage and ex-
press and the smoking car, which had been
completely telescoped, were enveloped IN
flames. The scene now beggared description.
From the smoking car issued cries. groans.
and prayers. The passengers in the regular
coach were all thrown from their seats, more
or less injured. One young lady fell on a
stove and a man had his hand terribly burned
in rescuing her.
a bride and groom of two weeks were in
the car. The man was rendered insensible
by the shock. His bride did not leave lin,
however, but grasping him by the feet
pulled him from the car, and thus saved him
from a horrible death. He recovered in a
short time, and they took the Pennsylvania
train for Detroit.
The two sleepers did not leave the track.
and were uncoupled at once and pushed back
from the fire. All of the rest Of the pasSen-
ger train burned. and when daylight dawned
nothing was left of it but few hot wheels
and rods.
There were fourteen or fifteen persons in
the smoking car, and all of them perlshed IN
the flames and their bodies were burned to
unrecognizable masses. One man alone es-
capped from the smoker. He was thrown
through the roof Of the car into
the air. His spine was injured and
his head badly burned. He had the ap-
pearance of an Irish emigrant, and was de-
lirious when taken out. He could not, give
asked where he lived, said he had no home.
Among those who perished in the smoker
was man named Joseph Postlethwaite,
aged fifty-seven, and his two sons, Spencer
and Henry, aged respectively eighteen and
eleven. He was on his way to Chilicothe,
Mo-, near which place he had
a brother living. He came, from New
He had the proceeds Of the sac in his pocket,
and the money, amounting to 81 $40. was
burned. His wife and three small children,
who were In the other car, were saved, and
taken to the village of Republic A CORE
spondent found the mother heartbroken and
Loo. l1-c nh
played artlessly around, not knowing what
had befallen them.
When the passengers who had escared
from the rear cars came to their senses they
commenced at once to try to aid those I'M
prisoned in the burning baggage, express
and smoking cars. C. P. Bradley, of Wash
ington, was banging out of cor window.
and was found to be fastened by the legs so
that he could not be taken out In this
position he was burned by inches. He
gave his watch and papers to q bystander
and sent word to his family. He was a
prominent Knight of Labor. and was on his
way t, the West to lecture. Nine charred
and burned bodies were taken from the debris
of the wreck, bat none OF the others could be
identified.
The sight of these headless and limbless
trunks, blackened and charred, was a horri-
bic one. A number of bones and pieces Of
bodies found later in the wreck indicated
that several bodies were entirely destroyed,
and swell the list of killed to sixteen. A
number of persons were injured and about
half dozen seriously.
The accident is the most fearful in loss Of
life which has happened in Ohio since the
great Ashtabula disaster. The engines
Of the two trains reared into the dir
like a pair of enraged living monsters,
and then settled down upon the track,
driven into each other until the clyin-
ders touched. Th, force of the impact
jammed the baggage and mail car into the
tender of the fast line, the express car into
the baggage, and the smoker into the ex-
press. The passenger train was in charge
Of Conductor Tom Haskett, Engi-
neer Len Eastman, aud Fireman William
Frederick, and consisted of engine No 726,
mail and baggage car, an express. smoker, a
coach, and two sleepers The freight train was
in charge of Conductor Fletcher, Engineer
Killer, and Fireman w. j. Cullison, and con-
sisted of engine No. 925 and sixteen and one
half loads and few empty gondolas. The
smoker contained from twelve to fifteen pas
sengers, some of whom were immigrants.
All of these perished. The only relic found
of Joseph Postlethwaite, the man who was
killed with his two sons, was q halfmelted